Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Animal Science Research, Kerman Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Kerman, Iran
2 Department of Animal Science Research, Kerman Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Kerman, Iran
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the in-vitro digestibility and rumen degradability of artichoke silage with different levels of barley grain powder compared to corn silage. For this purpose, artichoke forage was ensiled with 0, 5 and 10% milled barley for 60 days. The digestibility of the experimental silages was determined by the Tilley and Terry two-stage digestion method. To determine the rumen degradability of experimental silages using nylon bag method, three rumen fistulated bulls were used. The results showed that crude protein (CP), pH and tannin content of artichoke silages decreased significantly with the addition of milled barley (P<0.01). The dry matter (DM) digestibility of artichoke silage containing 10% milled barley was higher than to the others (P<0.01). The digestibility of organic matter in corn silage and artichoke silage containing 10% milled barley were higher than to the other treatments (P<0.01). The highest metabolizable energy was observed in the artichoke silage containing 10% milled barley. Fast-degrading fractions, slow-degrading fractions, and potential for DM, and slow-degrading fractions and potential for CP increased with increasing milled barley levels in artichoke silages (P<0.05).In general, the addition of milled barley to artichoke silage improved the quality and chemical composition of silage and increased the digestibility and degradability.
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